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Do 15-month-old infants understand false beliefs?
Kristine H Onishi1, Renée Baillargeon
1Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec H3A 1B1, Canada. kris.onishi@mcgill.ca
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|April 12, 2005
Summary
This study shows 15-month-old infants can predict behavior based on others' false beliefs. Early childhood development includes understanding mental states, challenging prior research.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Infant Studies
Background:
- Previous research suggested young children lack an understanding of mental states, specifically false beliefs.
- Preschoolers' difficulties with verbal false-belief tasks supported this notion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate 15-month-old infants' ability to predict behavior based on an actor's true or false belief.
- To examine the early development of mental state attribution in infants.
Main Methods:
- A novel nonverbal task was employed.
- Infants' predictions of an actor's behavior were observed based on the actor's belief about a toy's location.
Main Results:
- Infants demonstrated an ability to predict the actor's behavior based on her belief.
- Results indicated infants could differentiate between true and false beliefs.
Conclusions:
- Infants as young as 15 months appear to understand mental states, including beliefs.
- This challenges the long-held view that young children do not grasp others' mental states.
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